Self-adjusting thread holder



March 1945- w. H. WAKEFIELD 3 3 6 SELFADJUSTING THREAD HOLDER Fil ed Aug. 26, 1944 Y 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Mach 6, 1945. w. H. WAKEFIELD ,8

SELF-ADJUSTING THREAD HOLDER Filed Aug. 26, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 6, 1945 SELF-ADJUSTING THREAD HOLDER Walter' H. Wakefield, Worcester, Mass, assignor to Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcestcr, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application August 26, 1944, Serial No. 551,275

14 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in thread or weft end holders for weft replenishing looms and it is the general object of the invention to provide such a mechanism operated by a vibration motor and so constructed a to compensate for variations in the size of the group or bunch of threads controlled by it. 1

In weft replenishing looms the reserve bobbins are generally held in a magazine from which the bobbin weft ends lead outwardly to a thread holder located adjacent to the end of the lay. The bobbins are likely to rotate on their axes, particularly if the magazine be of multi-stack type, and the bobbins also descend from time to time for replenishing operations'of the loom. Under either of these conditions the weft ends become slack and it is necessary that they be kept taut to avoid breakage by the lay.

It has been proposed heretofore to hold the weft ends between threadvgears which are rotated by a vibration motor in such a direction as to hold the ends taut and drawthem awayfrom the magazine. Thread holders of this type as made heretofore, however, have had the axes of the thread gears fixed so that a large group of weft ends impose a considerable load on the vibration motor, whereas a small number of ends are likely not to be held tightly enough. It is an important object of my present invention to mount one ofthe thread gears for bodily movement relatively to the other thread gear and connect it to the vibrating weight of the vibration motor so that the weight will normally urge it toward the other gear.

The weight should be free to oscillate for the purpose of driving one of the thread gears and should preferably be supported from two points so that it may be properly guided. It is another object of my present invention to employ the conventional form of spring support for one end of the weight, but support the other end thereof bya flexible cord or the like which is connected to a mounting for the bodily movable thread gear. The flexible cord therefore assists in supporting the weight in such a manner that the latter can vibrate while at the same time communicating a force from the weight to the movable thread ear.

More generally, it is the object of my present invention to provide a thread holder having a.-

weight mounted for free vibration and perform-- ing two functions one of which is to cause rotation of the thread gears and the other of which is to cause relative bodily movement of the gears v toward each other for the purpose of compensating for the size of the bunch of weft ends between the gears.

I With these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a con venient embodiment nf my invention is set forth,

Fig. '1 is a partial side elevation of a weft replenishing loom thereto,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation looking in the direction of arrow 2, Fig. 1, with the guard plate of the thread holder removed to illustrate Referring to Fig. 1, I have showna loom frame I I! having a lay II and a shuttle box [2 for a vshuttle S. The magazine M which may be of the multistack type is mounted on a stand l3 secured to the loom frame and is provided with reserve bobbins B from which extent weft ends W. A thread holder designated generally at H is pro-' vided to receive the weft ends W and'is mounted on an arm l4 which may be secured in any manner to the magazine and projects outwardly from the latter with respect to the loom. During loom operation the lay reciprocates in the usual manner and causes vibration of the arm I4 and the holder H. The, bobbins B have a tendency to rotate on their axes in such a direction as to slacken the weft ends W and at the time of transfer certain at least of the bobbins descend so that their weft ends become slack. This slackness of the weft ends should be taken up to prevent breakage by the'lay as the latter reciprocates.

' endof the shaft for actuation by a feed pawl 24.

The latter is connected as at 25 to a resilient flat suspending member 25 which may be m-the form having my invention applied of a thin steel spring having its upper end secured as at 21 to a part of the casing 20. A dust plate 28 may be secured to the inner side of the casing 20, and the latter has a vertical wall 29 spaced from and parallel to plate 28. Top and bottom and side inclosing walls 3|] together with the dust plate 28 and the wall29 provide a substantial closed compartment within which the ratchet wheel, its pawL'the suspending spring 26. and other parts to be described hereinafter, are located.

The matter thus far described except as noted hereinafter is of common construction and may be made according to prior patent to Payne No. 1,842,731.

In carrying my present invention into effect Extending upwardly from the weight is a pivoted on the stud 41 carried by the wall 29.

As shown more particularly in Fig. 4 the lever 46. is provided with a hub 5!! in which rotates a shaft 5| to which is secured the second or bodily movable thread gear 52.

In the operation of the mechanism thus fardescribed the weight 31 oscillates in a horizontal direction due to vibration of the armltl and the casing incident to loom operation. As the weight moves to the right with respect to the casing 20- the pawl 24 imparts a feeding stroke.

to the ratchet wheel 23 and the latter turns the thread gear 22 in the direction of arrow at, Fig. 2. Thread gear 52 meshes with the gear 22 and therefore turns in the opposite direction. When the weight 31 moves to the left the pawl has an idle stroke and upon the next movement of the weight to the right the ratchet wheel and the gears are given another feeding stroke. turning of the ratchet wheel and thread gears by a force derived from the weight 31 goes on throughout-loom: operation, and is similar to the operation set forth in the aforesaid Payne patent- The flat spring 26 suspends the left side of the" weight while the right side of the latter is sup ported by the. cable 39. Since the weight 31 is located at a considerable distance to the right of the spring 26 as viewed in Fig. 2 it tends to falland in doing so creates a tension in the cable 39 which draws the lever 46. to the right and effects movement of the thread gear 52 bodily toward the thread gear 22. This movement is limited by meshing of the gears 22 and 52, and is permitted by a slot 53 inwall 29 through which hub 59 extends.

In Fig. 6 there-is shown diagrammatically the relationship between the thread. gears and the weight 31- when there are a large group or number of weft ends indicated at WL. Under these conditionsthe-gear 52 will be pushed away from the gear 22 by the. weft ends and the'lever 46 will be rocked to. a left hand position, thereby exerting a pull on the cable 39 which lifts. the weight 31 in adirection away from-the bottom wall 3fl'of the casing 20. The weight is free to oscillate horizontally when in. high position and therefore continues to actuate the gears 22 and 52. The pawl 24 is connected. to the-spring support 26 at such a point that its range of motion This and gears 22 and 52.

in actuating the ratchet wheel is not substantially changed during alteration in the vertical position of the weight 31.

As successive replenishments occur the size of the bunch of weft ends between the thread gears diminishes and may eventually be reduced to the small group indicated for instance at WS in Fig. 7. As the size of the weft end bunch decreases the weight 31, acting through cable 39, moves gear 52 toward the gear 22, thereby maintaining proper frictional relation between the weft ends In Fig. 7 the weight is shown as being in down position with the lever 46 thrown to its extreme right hand position and with the thread gears 22 and 52 relatively close together.

It may be that when appliedto certain looms the weight 3'! will have a tendency to vibrate vertically to a small degree. In order to dampen this vertical vibration I employ a light tension spring extending upwardly in a cavity 6! formed in the bottom of the weight 37. The top of spring 60 is secured to a screw or the like 62 carried by the weight. The bottom of the spring is attached to an adjusting screw 63 threaded into th bottom wall 30 of the casing 20 and held in adjusted vertical position by the check nut 64. The spring 60 is not necessary in all applications of the invention and is used only in those instances where there is sufficient vertical vibration of the weight to interfere with that function of the weight which serves to hold the thread gear 52 toward the gear 20. Proper clearances are provided between the weight and theratchet wheel 23 and the casing 20 to permit a substantial degree of angularmovement on the part of lever 46 for'the purpose of accommodating a large bundle of weft ends.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided simple means by which a weight 31 serves the dual function of rotating the thread gears 22 and 52 and at the same time tends to draw One of them toward the other for the purpose of compensating for the reduction in'the size of the bundle of weft ends. between. gears. It will also be. seen that the cable 39, extending. upwardly fromthe weight 31. cooperates with the resilient support 26 to provide. adequate mounting for the weight when the latter oscillates horizontally.

Having thus described my invention it will beseenv that changes and modifications-may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit-and scope. of. the invention and I do not wish. to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a thread holder for a weft replenishing loom having reserve bobbins from which extend weft ends thenumber of which decreases during loom operation, the loom also having a supportwhich vibrates during loom operation, a pair of weft end engaging meshing gears mounted on of said gears, and a weight mounted onthe sup port for downward movement relatively to the support due to gravity and also for relative move-- ment with respect to the support-due to vibration thereof, said weight being operatively connected to said driving mechanism to cause turning of the gears due to vibrational movement of the weight relatively to the support and saidweight being also operatively connected to one of said gears and tending to move the latter bodily toward the othergear due to gravity as the weft ends decrease in number. I

2. In a thread holder for a weft replenishing loom having reserve bobbins from which extend weft ends the number of which decreases during loom operation, the loom also having a support which vibrates during. loom operation, a pair of;

meshing weft end engaging gears mounted on"v said support for relative bodily movement toward and from each other, driving mechanism for one of said gears and acting due to downward move-.1- ment of the weight relatively tothe support to move said one gear bodily toward the other gear .as, the weft ends decrease in number.

relatively to the support under theaction of gravity, and connections between said weight and one of said gears operative due to downward movement of theweight relativel tothe support to move said one gear bodily toward the other ear as the weft ends decrease in number.

4. In a thread holder for a weft replenishing loom having reserve bobbins from which extend weft ends the number of which decreases during loom operation, the loom also havinga support which vibrates during loom operation, a pair of meshing weft end engaging gears mounted on said support for bodily movement relatively to each other, a-weight mounted on said support for'vi'brational movement relatively to the latter due to vibration of the support and also for down;

ward movement under the action of gravity, means causing vibrational movement of the weight relatively to the support to turn said gears, and means causing downward movement weight relatively to the support as the weft ends decrease in number.

6. In a loom thread holder having a support, a pair of meshing thread engaging gears mounted on said support for relative movement bodily toward and from each other, and a weight movably mounted on said support and operatively connected to said gears to cause turning of the latter due to movement in one direction of the I weight relative to thesupport, and said weight also being operatively connected to one of said gears and operating due to movement in a differ-' ent direction relative to the support to move the last named gear bodily toward the other gear.

7. In a loom thread holder having a support, a pair of meshing thread engaging gears mounted on said support'for movement bodily toward each other, a weight mounted on said support for horizontal and downward movement relatively thereto, operating connections between the weight and the gears to turn the latter when the weight moves horizontally with respect to the support,

and connections between the weight and one of said gears acting tomove the latter bodily toward the other gear when the weight moves downwardly relatively to the support.

8. In a thread holder for a weft replenishing loom having reserve bobbins from which extend weft ends the number of which decreases during loom operation, the loom also having. a support which vibrates during loom operation, a pair of meshing weft end engaging gears mounted on said support for bodily movement relatively to each other, a Weight mounted on the sup-port for vibrational movement relatively thereto due to vibrating movement of the support, said weight also capable of moving downwardly relatively to the support due to gravity, driving connections between the weight and the gears operative to turn the latter due to vibrational movement of the weight with respect to the support, connections betweenthe weight, and oneof said gears tending to move the latter bodily toward the other gear due to the tendency of the weight to be moved downwardly by gravity as the weft ends decrease in number, and means to dampen upof theweight relatively to the sup-port to move one of said gears bodily toward the other gear as the weft ends decrease in number.

5. In a thread holder for a weft replenishing loom having reserve bobbins from which extend weft ends the number of which decreases during loom operation, the loom also having a support which vibrates during loom operation, a pair of meshing weft end engaging gears mounted on said support for bodily movement relatively to each other, a weight mounted on said support for free vibrational horizontal movement rela tively thereto and also for downward movement relatively to the support due to gravity, driving mechanism for said gears, and connections operatively interposed between said weight and one of said gears, said weight performing the dual" function of turning said gears by a force transmitted through said driving mechanism due to horizontal vibrational movement of the weight and also moving said one gear bodily toward the other gear due to downward movement of the silient means connecting one end of said weight to said support, flexible means operatively connecting the other end of the weight to one of said gears and holding said other end of the weight up against the action of gravity, and driving connections between the weight and said gears op-' erative to turn the latter due "to endwise movement of the weight relatively to the support, said flexible means tending to move said one gear bodily toward the other gear due to the tendency of said weight to fall with respect to the support as the weft ends decrease in number.

10. In a thread holder for a weft replenishing loom having reserve bobbins from which extend weft ends the number of which decreases during loom operation, the loom also having a support which vibrates during loom operation, a thread gear rotatably mounted on the support, a second mounted on the support for movement toward and. from the first gear, a weight mounted on said upport for h rizontal and downward movement relatively thereto, operatin mechanism between the weight and the first named gear operative to turn said gears due to horizontal relative movement f the weight with r spe t to the supp t, and connections between the weight and the second named gear tending to move the latter bodily toward the first named gear due to tendency of he weight to move downwardly with respect to the support under the action of gravity as the weft ends decrease in number.

1.1,. In a thread holder for a weft replenishing loom having reserve bobbins from which extend weft ends the number of which decreases during loom operation, the loom also having a support which vibrates during loom operation, a thread gear rotatably mounted on the support, a lever pivoted on the support, a second thread gear rotatably mounted on the lever and meshing with the first gear, driving mechanism for the first named gear, a connector extending from the lever,

and a weight mounted on the support for horizontal and downward movement relatively thereto and connected to the driving mechanism and to the connector and operative due to horizontal movement relatively to the support to turn said gears through said driving mechanism and operative due to downward movement due to gravity relatively to the support through said connector to move a second named gear bodily toward the first gear as the weft ends decrease in number.

'12. In a thread holder for a weft replenishing loom having reserve bobbins from which extend weft ends the number of which decreases during loom operation, the loom also having a support which vibrates during loom operation, a pair of thread engaging gears mounted on the support for rotation relatively thereto and bodily movement toward each other, a weight mounted on the support for relative movement with respect acraszc. th ad ear meshin with he first gear and thereto in two difi rentdirecti ns one or which is downward under th force of gravity, connections between the weight and one of said'gears tending to move the latter bodily toward the other ear w en theweigbt'moves in said one direction relatively to the support, and driving means for said gears operatively connected to the weight andeiiective to turn said gears due to relative movement of the weight with respect to the support inthe other direction thereof.

13. In a thread holder for a weft replenishing loom having a reserve bobbin from which extend weft ends the number of which vary during loom operation, the loom having also a support which vibrates during loom operation, a pair of meshing thread gears on the support between which the weft ends extend, means on the support mounting one of said gears for bodily movement toward the other gear, driving mechanism for said other gear, and a weight on said support vibrating due to vibration of thelatter and causing said driving mechanism to effect turning of said gears in a direction to draw the weft ends away from said reserve bobbins due to vibration of the weight, and means operatively connecting said weight to said mounting means and effective due to the tendency of the weight to fall to move said one gear toward said other gear as the weft ends between the gears decrease in number.

14. In a thread holder for a weft replenishing loom having reserve bobbins from which extend weft ends the number of which decreases during loom operation, the loom also having a support 

